Those skilled in the art recognize the need to anchor objects and/or people relative to a ceiling or overhead rail. For example, when a building is being constructed, workers are advised to attach a life line or fall arrest line to a secure portion of the building. A preferred anchorage point for such a line is above the worker, so that the line minimally interferes with the worker's movements. Additionally, conduits and wiring are often secured in place at points along the ceiling (or beneath the floor) on each level of a building.
In order to facilitate the aforementioned practices, many builders routinely install channel members in the ceiling during the early stages of construction. In particular, continuous concrete inserts are often embedded in the concrete floors (or ceilings) and thereby available for use as needed. A cross-section of such a prior art insert is designated as 90 in FIG. 5. The insert 90 is generally U-shaped and includes a base wall 94 extending between opposite sidewalls 91 and 92. Exposed or "flush-mounted" walls 95 and 96 are integrally joined to "outer" ends of respective sidewalls 91 and 92 and extend toward one another. Distal walls 97 and 98 are integrally joined to "proximate" ends of respective exposed walls 95 and 96 and extend parallel to one another and toward the base wall 94. The walls of the insert 90 cooperate to define a channel 99 having a relatively smaller channel access width W and a relatively larger channel interior width X.
The insert 90 is known in the industry as a Fastenal 308 stainless steel insert. The insert 90 is made of 12 gauge steel and has a square perimeter which measures 1.625" along each side. The access width W is 0.812 inches, and the interior width is 1.415 inches.
Others have developed devices to anchor within such inserts. One of the design considerations for such devices is that the ends of the channel are typically inaccessible. As a result, the only way into the channel is through the access width. Some of the resulting shortcomings of these prior art devices are that they are (a) relatively complicated in design and/or operation; and/or (b) limited in size by the width of the channel (if they are inserted into the channel and then rotated ninety degrees to a locked position). In cases of complicated design and/or operation, concern may exist regarding whether or not the device will be installed correctly and function properly to support a fall arrest line. In cases of size limitation, concern may exist regarding the susceptibility of the device to failure when subjected to a fall arrest load. In other words, a need remains for a anchorage assembly which is relatively simple to make and use and which is able to support a sufficiently large load.